12.31.2008

Okay, so I realize the title of this post dates me. And actually, I have a wicked cold, and a kiddo with the stomach flu, so we're not really going to party at all. Just hang out at home and snuggle up in front of the TV. But we do have a little tradition here at the Shabby Nest that I thought it would be fun to share with you.

Every New Year's Eve, the New Year's fairy comes to visit. She just drops off a few goodies (food goodies, not presents) as a wish of prosperity and plenty in the new year. That's why I decided to make the little pixie above holding a banner with 2009 on it. She's this year's New Year's fairy!

So, what do you all have planned? Parties? or Watching the ball drop on TV? Whatever it is...I hope you have a safe and wonderful time ringing in the New Year!

12.22.2008

I have had so many requests for a Pixie Tutorial that I decided it was high time I did one... Here it goes...

You will need:

A black and white or sepia toned photo of a baby or small child. You will want a full body not just a head shot.

A page from an old book, newsprint, or music

Light weight cardboard or cardstock

Scissors (you can also use an Xacto knife)

Stick glue

Distressing ink

Glitter glue (optional)

Any other embellishments you may want to add

1. Begin by gluing the photo and the book page to the cardboard or cardstock. REMEMBER...the glue stick is your friend...every square inch of the photo should be affixed to cardstock...and a good 6" square of the book page (or music or newsprint) also.

2. After the glue has dried, cut out around the baby image. I use scissors for this step, but you may wish to use an Xacto - whatever you find easier.

3. I then freehand a wing pattern out of a bit of the cardstock. Just make one...you can reverse it for each wing.

4. Trace the image onto the glued book page.

5. Cut out the wings.

6. Take your distressing ink and smudge it on each wing. I like to use a tissue and then blend it with my fingers, but you can follow the directions on the package if you want ;-) I always make the wings darker on the edges and lighter in the center.

7. This next step is optional - edge the wings with the glitter glue. I may choose to omit this step depending on what sort of pixie I'm making...is it for Christmas or Halloween? etc.

8. After the wings dry, glue them to the back of the cut-out baby image.

9. You can create a little stand by gluing a small piece of cardstock folded into a "V" onto the back of the pixie at the bottom...or you may not need to do this depending on how you would like to display them.

This is the basic pixie...now you can do a couple of different things...you can leave it as is...or you can embellish it. (I, of course, think you should embellish it!)

For my Halloween pixies, I added little witch hats made from black construction paper...for my Christmas pixie I added some more glitter glue and a banner that says "Happy Holidays"...for this New Years' Pixie I added a cute little banner flag that says 2009. The possibilities are endless.

Good luck with your pixies! If you make some, make sure to post them and let me see how they turn out!

And in the middle of all of the harried and hurried last minute prep this weekend - let's not forget the Reason for the Season.

PS... I know I promised a pixie tutorial this week...I'm sorry. For those of you who are looking for it...I hope to have it up on Monday. But, you know, it is the last weekend before Christmas.... ;-)

Photo from the Pleated Poppy

Double PS ...I just wanted to say thanks to Lindsey from the Pleated Poppy! I won her giveaway and got myself a darling set of her posy pins! They came on Wednesday and they are so stinkin' cute! I put them on my sweater yesterday and felt very Anthropologie! If you've never visited Lindsey's store...you should hop over there! She is soooo talented. Thanks again Lindsey!

12.17.2008

Y'all are probably getting sick of these little birdies...but I had to share them with you one last time. I decided that I would make a bunch of them to give out as our neighbor/teacher gifts this year.

I just tied a little tag around their necks that said...

"Merry Christmas from our nest to yours!An old German tradition says that if you find a nest in your Christmas tree you will have a healthy, wealthy and happy new year. Here's a little bird to hang on your tree in hopes that it will build you a nest!"

So simple, but so cute. And because some of you have been asking. Here is a link to the pattern for these little birds.

12.16.2008

Kimba's holding a holiday open house today, and I just couldn't resist joining in on the fun. For those of you who are regular readers I hope you can put up with a few repeats (I did throw in some new stuff for you though!) And for those of you who are new...Welcome to my Shabby Nest! I hope you enjoy your stay enough that you will come back and visit again!

So to start things off...here is the garland on my staircase...

and here it is with the stockings I made for the family. You can read more about them (and see them better)here.

I just love snowflakes...

I have some "falling" from my chandelier,

and I also have some on this little tree.

I love making pixies...here is my latest addition.

And I LOVE filling apothecary jars! Oh yes I do!

If you want some easy-to-make decorations...try making some of these cute Christmas Topiary Trees. I show you how here.

Or you can make this great wreath that I found in BHG. I talk about it here. (Oh, and for you regular readers...you might notice that I moved it. I like the look of it much better on my old black cupboard.) Nothing like a festive birdcage...just loaded it with my favorite toile ornaments and some glass balls, and voila! And, of course, the tree. (the kiddos did a great job decorating it!) You can see some fun closeups of the ornaments here. Oh, and since we don't have a chimney, Santa has to use a magic key to get in our house. I had the key, but I borrowed an idea from Kari & Kijsa, and put it in this jar with a little faux snow. (Love that rhyme!)

Here's a cute little snowman that my lovely mother-in-law gave me. He keeps court in the laundry room/half bath. This little bunny (also a gift from my M-I-L) keeps watch for iceskating opportunities in the library.

Even the kiddos' rooms have a dose of Christmas cheer...you can read more about that here. And of course, a stash of candy canes is a must.

Finally, a little of my exterior decor. You can read more about it here.

12.15.2008

I'm sure most of you have heard about the ice storm that hit the Northeast at the end of last week. The effects were devastating for some. Thousands lost power. We were lucky enough to only get rain during those terrible storms, but the next town over from us was not so lucky. Sunday we took a drive to see the ice. Despite the fact that it caused such trouble, it was amazing to see. Absolutely breathtaking. I have never seen anything like it. And my kiddos were spellbound. They thought it looked like a fairy land. And you know, I agree.

I just wanted to share with you some of the photos we took. Mother Nature is amazing. Enjoy.

And to give credit where credit is due...the Hubby took all of these photos. Amazing, aren't they?

12.12.2008

I am so excited about our Christmas stockings! One of the things I wanted to do last year and didn't get around to actually doing, was to get matching stockings for the whole family. But I have been collecting pictures from magazines, catalogs, etc. so that I could find the perfect stockings. I really love neutral colors for Christmas stockings, and I decided that I would make them this year so I could get just what I wanted. I wanted white matelasse for the girls' stockings and tan burlap/linen for the boys'. I also wanted to use what I had. So I had to compromise, but only a little.

I got just what I wanted for the boys' and you'd never guess by looking at them that they were made out of an old dress of mine. I hadn't worn it in years but I loved the fabric so much that I kept it around for just such an occasion. I had a little white baby quilt that I used for the girls' stockings instead of matelasse, but it had the bonus of having a soft green border that made the perfect edge for the cuff. And the quilting gave them the texture I was looking for. I have been loving the initials I have seen tied to stockings all over blogland but all of my boys have the same first initial so I added these pretty little tags with all of our names made out of vellum and glitter-y alphabet stickers.

They look very pretty all lined up along the garland on our staircase.